Shoah Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Reported Anti-Jewish Statements.
A coalition of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for alleged antisemitic comments attributed to him toward Jewish students during his time at school.
The political party leader has claimed he never targeted anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we understand the grave risk of words of hatred – for we have witnessed where such words inevitably end," wrote the survivors in a letter.
"We must be unambiguous: praising Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not teasing. Not among children. Not ever."
A Direct Question
The correspondence poses straightforward questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your peers to anti-Jewish taunts?"
The Survivors
The group of eleven survivors features individuals with devastating personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.
Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Mounting Testimony
This action is a response to the characterisation of similar allegations by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader.
Following the publication, further individuals from that era have spoken out. Nearly thirty ex-students and educators now state they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.
One well-known allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would sidle up to him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", at times adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of poison gas.
A Broader Pattern
More individuals from diverse backgrounds have also shared experiences with allegations of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the idea that such actions were not meant to hurt.
- Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial intimidation".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry."
"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances create division by race or religion. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."